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Kōrero: Winiata, Maharaia

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Winiata, Maharaia

1912–1960

Nō Ngāti Ranginui; he kaihautū, he minita Metoriti, he kura māhita, he kaimātai tikanga tangata, he kaipāho, he poutoko iwi

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Frances Winiata rāua ko Piripi Winiata, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 2000. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

Nō te 29 o Hepetema o te tau 1912 i whānau ai a Maharaia Winiata, he mea karanga rā ko Maha, i te pā o Ngāhina e pātata atu rā ki Rūātoki i te taha rāwhiti mai o Te Moana-a-Toi-te-huatahi (Bay of Plenty). Ko Winiata Piahana rāua ko tana wahine, ko Te Ruakāwhena Kohu ōna mātua, tokorua rāua nō te hapū o Ngāi Tamarāwaho, he hapū nō Ngāti Ranginui. Nā ōna mātua tonu i mea ko Ngāhina hei wāhi whānautanga mōna, nā te mea he wāhi puna wai tapu nei nō ngā tūpuna, ā, i reira i tohia a ia ki ētahi tikanga pure ake, kia taea ai e ia te waha ngā mahi a tōna iwi. He tohunga Ringatū, tangata mahi pāmu nei tōna pāpā, ā, hau nei tōna rongo mō te whaikōrero, mō te mōhio ki ngā tikanga tuku iho, ki ngā waiata me te whakapapa. I haere tana māmā ki te whare kura o te mīhana o Tauranga, ā, ahakoa paku noa nei tana mōhio ki te kōrero Pākehā i ngā tau o muri mai, i tino mōhio tūturu tana māmā ki ngā painga o te whakaakoranga a te Pākehā. Ko te māmā ake nei o Te Ruakāwhena ko Hikuwai Kohu, ko ia rā te tamāhine a te rangatira rā o Ngāti Ranginui, a Parāone Koikoi, he mea kāhaki mai kia kite ia i te raupatutanga o ō rātou whenua. Ko te tūmanako tonu o te māmā o Maharaia kia riro mā te whakaakoranga e taea tana tama te whakaora ake i tana iwi i tino whara nei i te raupatu.

E tata tonu ana ki Tauranga te wāhi i whakatipua ake nei a Maharaia. E whitu tau nei tana pakeke ka tīmata tana haere ki te kura tuatahi o Ōtūmoetai, kāore anō ia kia mōhio ki te kōrero Pākehā; whāia, i muri mai ka haere ia ki te kura tuatahi o Maungatapu me te kura tuarua ā-rohe hoki o Tauranga (Tauranga District High School). Nō te tau 1931 i whakanōhia a ia hei tauira tuakana mō te kura. I uru atu anō hoki ia ki te tīma whutupaoro matua o te kura, ā, ko ia anō hoki te kaipara whakaihuwaka o te kura ka tahi, me te rohe o Te Moana-a-Toi ka rua. I te rironga mai i a ia o te whakamātautau ki te uru hei kaimahi kāwanatanga (Public Service Entrance Examination) i te tau 1930, ka puta anō hoki ia i te whakamātautau ki te haere ki te whare wānanga, inarā, ko ngā utu he mea whakakapi e ngā moni i utua mai ki a ia e tētahi nūpepa o te hau kāinga, ko ia nei te kairīpoata mō ngā mahi a tōna kura. Ahakoa tana whiwhi karahipi hei hari i a ia ki te whare wānanga, nā te wā o te korekore i noho ia e kimikimi mahi tonu ana tae noa atu ki te tau 1935, kātahi anō ia ka haina ki te haere ki te kāreti o te whare wānanga o Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland University College). Ahakoa ngā uaua o te whakawaia i a ia ki te noho ako wā kikī nei te ako, me tana whakatau anō hoki i a ia ki ngā āhuatanga o te noho a te Pākehā, nō te taenga atu ki te tau 1937 i whakaaetia ia hei kaiwhakauru mō te kāreti whakaakoranga atua o te Hāhi Metoriti (Methodist Theological College). Otirā, e toru tau tana roa ki reira ako ai, i whakahaere tahitia ana akoranga minita me āna mahi i te whare wānanga. Noho ake ana ko Maharaia te Māori tuatahi ki te whai i te mātauranga katoa o te mahi minita. Riro ana hoki i a ia ngā tūranga o te tauira matua kaiāwhina, o te kaitiaki pukapuka, me tana toa atu anō hoki ki ngā whakataetae whaikōrero. I te wā e tere ana te nui haere o ngā Māori e taetae ake ana ki ngā tāone, ko te wā tonu tēnā i tīmata ai tana mahi mā te rangatahi.

Nō te tau 1940 i whakatūria a Maharaia hei minita mō te Hāhi Metoriti i Kāwhia, tiakina ngātahitia e ia ngā Māori me ngā Pākehā o tōna pāriha, me ngā taitama ake hoki. Nō taua tau anō i Onehunga, arā, nō te 15 o Mei, i moea e Maharaia a Frances Eileen Clegg o te wāhanga Māori o te mīhana Metoriti. Tokorima ngā tamariki i puta i a rāua. Ahakoa tana tono atu kia whakaurua atu ia hei minita mō te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion, arā, te hokowhitu Māori), nā te kore i tika o te tinana i kore ai ia i tukua atu, mahue kē mai ana ia ki te mahi mā te ope tautiaki o te haukāinga (Home Guard). He kite nōna i te hiranga nei o te whiwhi whakaakoranga o te tamariki te take i haere nei ia ki te kāreti takiura o Ākarana (Auckland Training College) i ngā tau 1942 me 1943; i reira noho ake ana ia hei perehitini mō te rōpū o ngā tauira, ētita atu hoki mō tā rātou pukapuka nei, mō Mānuka. Nō te tau 1943 i oti i a ia tana tohu paetahi (BA). Ka mutu nei tana whakaakoranga hei kura māhita ka tīmata tana mahi whakaako ki ngā kura o Rotokawa me Whangamarino i te takiwā o Rotorua. Mahi mai anō hoki ia i te taha o ngā komiti ā-iwi o te haukāinga ki te whakakao kai, taonga whakaora tinana mō ngā tāngata o te hokowhitu Māori. I tēnei wā he pahī pakupaku noa nei tō rātou whare ko tana whānau, he kānara kē nei tāna hei tiro i āna mahi e whakamātau nei ia kia whiwhi i tana tohu paerua (MA), noho waho mai ia o te whare wānanga ako ai; nāwai rā oti atu ana i a ia te mahi nei i te tau 1945. Whakatūria ana hoki a ia hei māhita ki te Kāreti Wēteriana (Wesley College) i Ākarana (Auckland) i te tau 1946, ā, taihoa ake meinga atu ai ia hei kaiāwhina mātua. Nō te mutunga o te tau i whiwhi a ia i tana tohu mātauranga mai i te kāreti o te whare wānanga o Tāmaki-makau-rau.

Ko tētahi mea nui ki a Maharaia ko te hui a ngā Rangatahi Māori (Young Māori Conference) o te tau 1939, i riro nei nā Apirana Ngata rāua ko te ahorangi rā, nā Horace Belshaw i hāpai. Ko tētahi take whakamāharahara i a ia, ko te āhua o te mātauranga o te Māori, te tikanga o te kore whai mahi i tua atu i ngā mahi ihu oneone noa nei, tae atu ki te mahi whakaiti iwi e karawhiua tonutia ana ko te Māori. Pākia ake ana anō hoki a Maharaia me tana whānau i Pukekohe e te kino nei. Ko tētahi anō o ana māharahara, ko te tino hē kē nei o te āhua o ngā kāinga noho o ngā kaimahi Māori i ngā māra hokohoko o te takiwā kāinga rā. Hei ātete māna i ngā raruraru nei i haere a Maharaia ki te kōrerorero ki ngā rōpū pērā i te karapu Rotari (Rotary Club) o te takiwā kāinga, i ngā kaunihera tāone, i ngā rōpū hāhi me ngā rōpū kaipakihi. Nā te mea he tangata wahapū, ngākau manawa reka nei ia ki te kōrero, i kaingākau nuitia a ia hei tangata whaikōrero. I whakawhere tonutia e ia te poari mātauranga kia whakatūria he kura Māori hou, ahakoa kua kore kē tēnei i nāianei i te kaupapa a te kāwanatanga. Whakahaerea anō hoki ngā karaihe Rātapu, meinga atu anō hoki he nēhi hei peka ake ki te kura. He mea tuhi tonu, huri haere rānei ia i te motu kōrero ai mō ngā takahanga i te Tiriti o Waitangi me ngā raruraru i ahu mai i te raupatu o ngā whenua, me te mahi anō hoki ki te whakatika ake i ngā kāinga noho, tae atu ki te mea nui rawa atu o ēnei, ko te whiwhi o te tangata i te mātauranga. Nō te tau 1945 i tū ai ia mō te Whare Pāremata, whakataetae ai i te tūru Māori o Te Tai Hauāuru, he tūranga wehe kē mai nei tōna. Hoi anō noho tuatoru kē mai ana ia ki a Matiu Rātana o te Rōpū Reipa (i mau tonu rā i a Matiu te tūru), tuarua atu hoki ki a Pei Te Hurinui Jones.

Nō te tau 1945 i whakatūria e te tari whakaakoranga pakeke o te kāreti o te whare wānanga o Tāmaki-makau-rau he komiti iti tohutohu Māori. Ko tētahi o ngā kaupapa a taua komiti he whakaiti mai i ngā mahi tōrōkiri a te Māori, arā, mā te ako nei i ngā tikanga tuku iho e whakaara ake anō te wairua whakahī ā-iwi o te Māori. Nō te tau 1949 i whakatūria ai a Maharaia hei kaiwhakaako, kaiwhakahaere hoki mō te whakaakoranga i ngā Māori pakeke, inarā ko Maharaia tonu i te āwhina i te whakahaere i ngā karaihe o mua wawe atu i te hōpuni tangata i Whau (Avondale). Ko te mahi i tohua ake māna he whakatū karaihe, whakatū wāhi whakaakoranga mai i Te Tai Tokerau ki Ōtautahi (Christchurch). Whakatūria ana a Matiu Te Hau hei kaiwhakaako, kaiwhakahaere anō mō Te Tai Tokerau, ā, taro rawa ake te riro nei i a Wiremu Paaka (Parker) te whakahaere o te rohe o Taranaki, o Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke’s Bay) me Pōneke (Wellington). I muri mai i tō rātou whakatūnga atu ka noho nei ko Waikato–Maniapoto me Te Moana-a-Toi ngā rohe ake o Maharaia.

Hei tīmata ake i te mahi hou nei ki roto o Waikato–Maniapoto i tonoa atu ai e Maharaia a Te Puea Hērangi rāua ko Kīngi Korokī i Ngāruawāhia hei tautoko i te kaupapa nei. Hāunga rā, nā te raupatu i ō rātou whenua i kore ai ētahi o ngā tāngata o Waikato i hiahia ki te whai wāhi atu ki ngā kura tuatahi, ā, mahue mai ana ki a Maharaia te mahi ki te whakarerekē ake i ēnei tū whakaaro. Na, ko tētahi o ngā karaihe nei a Maharaia he rōpū kaumātua nei kātahi anō rātou ka ako ki te pānui kupu, pānui mai ana rā i ngā pukapuka, i Janet and John , he mea tuhi kē nei mā ngā tamariki o ngā kura tuatahi. Whakatūria ana hoki he karaihe whakairo, e iwa nei ngā tauira waka nā rātou i hanga hei whakanui ake i te rau tau tuaono mai i te taenga mai o ngā waka ki Aotearoa nei, me Tainui nei hoki. I te wā o te hui, tekau ngā paoho mai a Maharaia ia wiki ki te reo Māori, paoho mai i ngā teihana reo irirangi o Ākarana me Pōneke; inarā, ko ētahi o āna take kōrero ko ‘Te pūnga mai o te hunga Poronihiana’ me ‘Kei hea te wāhi tau o ngā waka?’ Nā te ngākaunuitia o ana kōrero i tonoa atu ia kia hokia ake anō e ia aua kōrero ki te reo Pākehā.

Kō tētahi kaupapa tōmua atu anō hoki nāna anō i tīmata ko tana whakatūnga i tētahi kura whakairo me tētahi whare nui hou nei ki Hūria (Judea) i Tauranga, taro rawa ake nei i whakatuwheratia e Korokī te whare nei i te tau 1956. Korikori mai ana te hunga o ērā atu rohe ki te whai mai i te mahi whakatū whare pēnei, ā, aua atu hoki te nui o ngā rōpū e hiahia ana ki te whakahaere mahi pērā mā rātou, ka riro nei nā Maharaia rātou i āwhina. He kōrero anō hoki tāna mahi i ngā hui o te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League), āwhina hoki i a rātou ki te whakatū karaihe whakaakoranga pakeke. Ko tētahi wāhanga anō o tana mahi he whakahauhau i ngā tikanga tuku iho, he ētita mai i ngā pukapuka iti whakaatu mai ana i ngā kōrero tuku iho mō ngā waka, kohi ake hoki i ngā whakapapa. Neke atu i tēnā he mea whakatū anō e ia tētahi rā tākaro hei whakanui i te huri tau o te koroneihana o Korokī, āwhina atu hoki i a Te Puea ki te tuhi me te ētita i tētahi pukapuka hei whakanui nei i te rau tau o te aranga ake o te Kīngitanga. Nō te tau 1949 i kohikohia ake e ia ngā taunakitanga o mua mai mō ‘te oati o te Rohe Pōtae’, arā, nā te oati rā i whakaritea me whakatapu te mahi hoko waipiro ki te Rohe Pōtae, ā, i haere tahi rā rātou ko Korokī me te maha ake o ngā kaumātua o Tainui ki Pōneke ki te tuku atu i tā rātou tono ki te Pirimia, ki a Pita Pereiha (Peter Fraser), kia kaua e whakarerekētia te ture.

Nā runga i ngā akiaki mai a Ralph Piddington o te tari o te mātauranga tikanga tangata o te kāreti o te whare wānanga o Tāmaki-makau-rau, i tono atu ai a Maharaia i tētahi karahipi rangahau i te pūtea a Nuffield mō ngā akoranga e pā ana ki ngā tikanga tangata, ka whiwhi nei ia i te tau 1952, me te tau 1953 anō hoki. Kapi ana i te karahipi nei ana utu mō te haere atu ki Ētinapara (Edinburgh) ki te whai i te tohu kairangi ki te mātauranga tikanga tangata. I whiwhi anō hoki ia i tētahi pūtea mai i te Poari Kaitiaki Māori o Tainui (Tainui Māori Trust Board). I a ia i Ētinapara i mahi ake ia i raro i a Kenneth Little, ā, nō tana haerenga atu ki te whare wānanga o Rānana (University of London) ako ai, i mahi ia i raro i a Raymond Firth. Ki te titiro a Little, kātahi nei te tangata kaha tana mau ki te ako i a ia, ngāwari noa nei te tohutohu atu, me tana tino tau kē hoki hei kaimātakitaki atu i ngā take e taiāwhio nei i a ia. Ko te kaupapa ake o tana tuhinga tohu kairangi (PhD), he tirotiro i ngā whakarerekētanga i ngā tūranga mana whakahaere Māori o te rau tau rua tekau, mai i ngā tino rangatira o mua ki te hunga tamariki iho, hunga ngaio, hunga Karaitiana, he Pākehā kē nei te momo whakaakoranga. Ka oti i a Maharaia tana tuhinga whakapae i ngā tau e rua, ā, noho ake ana ko ia te Māori tuatahi i whiwhi i tōna i tāwahi. Heoi anō, kātahi te mea pai rawa atu ki a ia ko te tautoko a Waikato–Ngāti Maniapoto i tana whakakawanga i tana tuhinga whakapae ki a Korokī rāua ko Te Puea, i te wā tonu i tukua atu e ia taua tuhinga āna ki te whare wānanga o Ētinapara, arā, i te 8 o Oketopa o te tau 1954, koirā hoki te rā o te hui ā-tau whanui i te koroneihana o Korokī.

Taea noatia ana e Maharaia te waha ake te nui noa atu o te mahi. Noho ake ana ia hei kaitohutohu hangarau ki a J. Arthur Rank, e mahi nei tēnei i tana pikitia, i The Seekers , whai wāhi atu hoki ia ki te pikitia nei rāua tahi nei ko te kaiwhakairo, kaiwaiata rā, ko Īnia Te Wīata. Nō te tau 1953 i whakauru atu ia ki te rōpū nei a te BBC, ki ‘Town Forum’, i reira anō hoki a Edmund Hillary. He mea pōwhiri mai anō hoki a ia ki te koroneihana o Kuini Erihāpeti Te Tuarua, ā, tae atu ana ia ki tana whakatuwheratanga tuatahi i te Pāremata o Wehiminita (Westminster). Waihoki, tonoa ake anō hoki a Maharaia e Firth hei mema mō te rōpū a te Karauna mō ngā take tikanga tangata o Peratānia me Airani (Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland), ā, e rua nei ana kōrero ki ngā mema o taua rōpū rā. I tae atu anō hoki ia ki tētahi hui take tikanga tangata, take hononga ā-iwi i Liege i te whenua o Peretiama. I whai wāhi anō hoki ia ki ngā hui a te tūāpapa Nuffield (Nuffield Foundation), whaikōrerotia ana e ia te rōpū tikanga tangata, pakiwaitara o Koterana (Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society) i Ētinapara, ā, kauwhau mai ana anō hoki a ia i ngā whare karakia Metoriti o Ingarangi me Koterana.

I tana hokinga mai ki Aotearoa he pukumahi tonu tana mahi. Otirā riro ake ana i a ia ngā tūranga nei, hēkeretari mā te kaunihera o te Kīngi Māori, tiamana mai mō te komiti whakahaere ā-iwi o Te Waitematā (Waitematā Tribal Executive), mema atu hoki mō te wāhanga Māori o te Kaunihera Hāhi o te Motu (National Council of Churches) i Aotearoa, ā, arā atu anō hoki ngā rōpū hāhi i whai wāhi atu ia. He mahi tuhi kōrero anō hoki tāna mahi mō Te Ao Hou , mō te Journal of the Polynesian Society , mō te Phylon Quarterly (he tānga puka nei nā te whare wānanga o Atlanta), mō te New Zealand Herald me te Auckland Star. Ahakoa he tangata ngākaunui ia ki te tākaro whutupaoro, nā te mahi whakatāuke tangata i tohea e ia te haere o te tīma toa o Aotearoa (All Blacks) ki Āwherika ki te Tonga, tākaro ai. Hei kite māna i te āhua o ngā pokapū tiaki tamariki, i ngā whare wānanga me ngā puni nohonga, i haere ia ki Amerika, ki ngā Piripīni me Haina, tiro haere ai. Tae atu anō hoki ia ki ngā ripa tauarai o Tibet, kimi momo iwi haere ai e rite ana te āhua ki te Māori.

E tata tonu ana te mutunga o te hui poukai, hui ā-tau nei a ngā kaitautoko o te Kīngitanga o Waikato me Ngāti Ranginui, ka mate ohorere nei a Maharaia Winiata i Tauranga, i te 6 o Āperira o te tau 1960, 47 noa nei ōna tau. Mahue mai ana ko tana wahine, ko Frances, me ngā tamāhine tokorua, tama tokotoru. He mea tāpuke ia i te 10 o ngā rā o Āperira o te tau 1960 i te taha mai o te whare nui nāna nei i whakaara ake. Nō te tau 1967 i tāia ai e Blackwood rāua ko Janet Paul tana tuhinga whakapae, he mea whakaīngoa nei ko The changing role of the leader in Maori Society. I tērā wā ko te pukapuka nei tētahi o ngā mahi mātauranga ruarua noa nei a te tangata Māori he mea whakapukapuka ake, e whakaaatu nei i te āhua o te Māori o te rau tau rua tekau.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Frances Winiata and Piripi Winiata. 'Winiata, Maharaia', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/5w41/winiata-maharaia (accessed 19 March 2024)